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[Stupid User]

True Launch Bar is a really nifty little $20 shareware utility that extends the functionality of the Windows "Quick Launch" area very significantly.  Besides its built-in features (such as full folder navigation), True Launch Bar supports a variety of plugins.

The other day, I asked the author about making a plugin for Media Center, which would allow Media Center to be controlled from the Task Bar.  He made it, and went one step further and made one for Media Jukebox as well.  I find it pretty cool.  Here's what it looks like with just one of the many skins available:



That button on the right allows you to easily select any track in Playing Now.

I thought people here might find this useful, especially if they already use True Launch Bar.

True Launch Bar home page:
http://www.truelaunchbar.com/

True Launch Bar Media Control plugin:
http://www.truelaunchbar.com/plugins/winamp.html

[zeltak]

thx for the info, ill dl now  

zeltak

[Fixer]

Looks pretty neat, but the MC plugin does not work.  It downloads, but does not install, like the rest of the plugins do.  Hopefully it will be fixed soon so I can give it a test drive.

[Stupid User]

I bet I know what the problem is.  When he first released the plugin, there was a problem whereby the DLL file for the MC plugin would install, but Media Center would not appear in the drop-down list for the Media Control plugin.  After several emails back-and-forth, he fixed that problem, and made the new DLL version available via the True Launch Bar "Component Manager".

I'm thinking maybe the EXE version of the plugin you presumably downloaded--from the Media Control plugin page--is the old version, with the bug.  He may have forgotten to update that copy.  Try going into the Component Manager, uninstalling the version you have, and checking for updates within Component Manager to obtain the latest one.

If that fails, and you're still interested in getting it to work, you can send him an email at support@tsoftcentral.com.  He is very responsive.

[Stupid User]

Just wanted to point out that I've tried a bunch of skins, and not many seem to have the button for Playing Now (though many have an "open file" button, designed for Winamp apparently).  Two skins that do have the Playing Now button are the <default> skin, and wa2.  (In case I'm not the only one who thinks that's a cool little feature.)

The "Close JRiver Media Center" menu item doesn't work for me, and I've reported it to the author.  (This item appears on the menu you see when you right click the Media Control plugin.)

[pank2002]

I have something alternative and totally free:



I use mjextman commands, which can control basicly everything in MC. Probarbly what TLB use too.

You can also control volume etc with mjextman.
 
Check http://www.musicex.com/mediajukebox/DevZone/CommandLine.html

[Stupid User]

Using mjextman results in slow response times, presumably because mjextman.exe needs to launch, then the command is issued, then MC responds to the command.

True Launch Bar's Media Control Plugin does not use mjextman, and works much faster.  But of course, it does carry a $20 price tag.  So your suggestion is still a worthy one.